Celanese Analysts Boost Their Forecasts After Upbeat Q1 Results

Celanese Corporation CE posted better-than-expected results for its first quarter after the closing bell on Monday.

Celanese reported quarterly earnings of 57 cents per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 38 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $2.39 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.25 billion.

“Our end-markets in the first quarter exhibited dynamics similar to the fourth quarter, and demand in our businesses developed mostly as we expected,” said Scott Richardson, president and chief executive officer. “While tariffs are a constant topic, we saw no direct impact in the first quarter. No matter how the demand environment develops over the remainder of the year, our mission is unchanged.”

The company said it sees second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.30 to $1.50 per share, versus market estimates of $1.41 per share.

Celanese shares slipped 0.1% to trade at $49.04 on Wednesday.

These analysts made changes to their price targets on Celanese following earnings announcement.

• Wells Fargo analyst Michael Sison maintained Celanese with an Equal-Weight rating and raised the price target from $40 to $45.
• Keybanc analyst Jeffrey Hammond maintained the stock with an Overweight rating and boosted the price target from $71 to $76.

Considering buying CE stock? Here’s what analysts think: